1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to toilet-flushing systems and, more particularly, to an electrically operated flushing apparatus.
2. Description Of The Related Art
Conventional toilets employ a water tank or reservoir coupled to a toilet bowl for flushing waste material from the toilet. The amount of water used in the flushing operation is determined by the amount of water stored in the water tank. Another feature of conventional toilets is a generally S-shaped conduit forming the discharge outlet. The shape of the conduit forms a water trap so that the path through the conduit is always blocked by water. This prevents odor and bacteria from the sewage system from entering the living environment.
Conventional toilets are unsuitable for marine or land recreational vehicle use because the vehicle typically cannot hold enough water to accommodate many flushings of a conventional toilet. Conventional toilets require a substantially large volume of water to complete the flushing operation, generally averaging about 4 to 6 gallons of water for each such flushing operation. Additionally, vibration and rocking motion of the vehicle or vessel causes the water in the tank or water trap to spill or leak out. Accordingly, toilets specially designed for marine and recreation vehicle use have been employed.
To minimize water consumption, some specially designed toilets use manually operated valves coupled to a pressurized water supply. In operation, the user depresses a lever or some other valve actuating mechanism, and water flows into the toilet bowl as long as the valve actuating mechanism is depressed. A major drawback to this type of toilet is that the user must keep pressure on the valve actuating mechanism for the entire duration of the flush cycle.
For eliminating conventional water traps, some toilets employ a plate pivotally connected to the discharge opening of the toilet bowl. The plate typically is spring-biased for covering the discharge opening, thereby sealing the environment from the holding tank or sewage system. In operation, the weight of the water or waste material ordinarily is sufficient pivot the plate, thereby allowing the waste material to flow out of the discharge opening. After the waste material passes out of the toilet bowl, the plate resumes its closed position. Unfortunately, the waste material frequently sticks to the plate and does not become dislodged when the plate pivots. Consequently, the discharge opening remains uncovered, thus subjecting the environment to odor and bacteria.
Finally, some toilets dispense with conventional waste processing procedures and use heating elements to incinerate the waste. The drawbacks of such toilets are that electrical heating elements require significant electrical currents to provide enough heat to incinerate the waste material, and combustion-type heating elements require storage tanks for a fuel supply. The former is not a feasible option for most, if not all, recreational vehicles, and the latter poses safety hazards.